20 USC 1087-55 – Flexible use of funds
(a) Carry-over authority
(1) Of the sums granted to an eligible institution under this part for any fiscal year, 10 percent may, at the discretion of the institution, remain available for expenditure during the succeeding fiscal year to carry out programs under this part.
Terms Used In 20 USC 1087-55
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
(2) Any of the sums so granted to an institution for a fiscal year which are not needed by that institution to operate work-study programs during that fiscal year, and which it does not wish to use during the next fiscal year as authorized in the preceding sentence, shall remain available to the Secretary for making grants under section 1087-53 of this title to other institutions in the same State until the close of the second fiscal year next succeeding the fiscal year for which such funds were appropriated.
(b) Carry-back authority
(1) Up to 10 percent of the sums the Secretary determines an eligible institution may receive from funds which have been appropriated for a fiscal year may be used by the Secretary to make grants under this part to such institution for expenditure during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the sums were appropriated.
(2) An eligible institution may make payments to students of wages earned after the end of the academic year, but prior to the beginning of the succeeding fiscal year, from such succeeding fiscal year’s appropriations.
(c) Flexible use of funds
An eligible institution may, upon the request of a student, make payments to the student under this part by crediting the student’s account at the institution or by making a direct deposit to the student’s account at a depository institution. An eligible institution may only credit the student’s account at the institution for (1) tuition and fees, (2) in the case of institutionally owned housing, room and board, and (3) other institutionally provided goods and services.
(d) Flexibility in the event of a major disaster
(1) In general
In the event of a major disaster, an eligible institution located in any area affected by such major disaster, as determined by the Secretary, may make payments under this part to disaster-affected students, for the period of time (not to exceed one academic year) in which the disaster-affected students were prevented from fulfilling the students’ work-study obligations as described in paragraph (2)(A)(iii), as follows:
(A) Payments may be made under this part to disaster-affected students in an amount equal to or less than the amount of wages such students would have been paid under this part had the students been able to complete the work obligation necessary to receive work study funds.
(B) Payments shall not be made to any student who was not eligible for work study or was not completing the work obligation necessary to receive work study funds under this part prior to the occurrence of the major disaster.
(C) Any payments made to disaster-affected students under this subsection shall meet the matching requirements of section 1087-53 of this title, unless such matching requirements are waived by the Secretary.
(2) Definitions
In this subsection:
(A) The term “disaster-affected student” means a student enrolled at an eligible institution who—
(i) received a work-study award under this section for the academic year during which a major disaster occurred;
(ii) earned Federal work-study wages from such eligible institution for such academic year;
(iii) was prevented from fulfilling the student’s work-study obligation for all or part of such academic year due to such major disaster; and
(iv) was unable to be reassigned to another work-study job.
(B) The term “major disaster” has the meaning given such term in section 5122(2) of title 42.